Dear Asbury Park City,

Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-5(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.

I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.

I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.

I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.

Records requested:

Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., I request electronic copies of:

All OPRA requests submitted to and received by the City of Asbury Park from August 3, 2026 through August 9, 2026, inclusive, regardless of the identity of the requester or subject matter of the request, together with the City’s response, processing records, and disposition for each such request.

For each OPRA request received during this seven-day period, please provide:

The original OPRA request;
The City’s acknowledgment or initial response;
Any extension notices;
Any requests for clarification and responses thereto;
Any denial or partial-denial notices;
Any response identifying or explaining redactions;
The City’s final response or disposition; and
Any other written correspondence documenting the processing, status, or disposition of the request.

For avoidance of doubt, this request seeks the disposition of every OPRA request received during August 3 through August 9, 2026, regardless of whether the request resulted in a grant, partial grant, production with redactions, full or partial denial, extension of time, request for clarification, withdrawal, closure, or remains pending or otherwise unresolved.

The August 3–9, 2026 date limitation applies only to the date the underlying OPRA request was submitted to or received by the City. It does not limit the date of any subsequent acknowledgment, extension, correspondence, denial, redaction notice, final response, or disposition. Thus, if a qualifying request was received during August 3–9 but the City responded on August 10, 2026 or any later date, that subsequent response or disposition remains responsive to this request.

This request does not seek copies of the underlying government records that were produced in response to the third-party OPRA requests. It seeks the OPRA requests themselves and the City’s records reflecting the response, processing, status, and ultimate disposition of each request.

This request encompasses qualifying OPRA requests received or maintained by the City Clerk, Asbury Park Police Department, or any other City department or records custodian.

LEGAL BASIS FOR DISCLOSURE

Third-party OPRA requests are government records subject to public access under New Jersey law. In Scheeler v. Office of the Governor, 448 N.J. Super. 333, 345-49 (App. Div. 2017), the Appellate Division addressed requests seeking OPRA requests submitted by other members of the public during specified periods. The court recognized such OPRA requests as government records and rejected their categorical withholding based upon generalized privacy concerns.

The Appellate Division subsequently reaffirmed this principle in In re Adoption of N.J.A.C. 5:105-1.6(a)(1), 479 N.J. Super. 420 (App. Div. 2024), explaining, with citation to Scheeler, that “a citizen submitting an OPRA request ordinarily would not have a reasonable expectation that the request will not be disclosed to others.”

The requested records also fall within OPRA’s definition of a “government record” under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, because they are records made, maintained, kept on file, or received by a public agency in the course of its official business.

This is also consistent with the City of Asbury Park’s own OPRA Request Form, which expressly advises requesters:

“Information provided on this form may be subject to disclosure under the Open Public Records Act.”

The City’s form further states:

“All government records are subject to public access under the Open Public Records Act (‘OPRA’), unless specifically exempt.”

SPECIFICITY AND SCOPE

This request is narrowly confined to a specifically identifiable class of existing records: OPRA requests received during a single seven-day period and the records documenting the City’s subsequent processing and disposition of those particular requests.

It does not require the custodian to research an undefined subject, answer questions, determine which substantive government records might be relevant, or create a new record. The responsive universe can be objectively identified by locating OPRA requests received from August 3 through August 9, 2026 and retrieving the associated response and disposition records.

This distinction is consistent with MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005). Unlike an open-ended research demand, this request identifies the precise category of records and a finite seven-day receipt period.

Moreover, Scheeler itself concerned access to OPRA requests submitted by third parties during specified periods. The existence of multiple responsive records does not, standing alone, transform this finite and specifically defined request into an impermissible research demand.

If particular information within an otherwise responsive record is specifically exempt from disclosure, please redact only the exempt information and produce the reasonably segregable remainder, identifying the specific statutory or other legal authority supporting each redaction or withholding.

Electronic production through OPRAmachine is requested.

My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.

Yours faithfully,

Trevor